Since its creation in 1919, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has always been a fighting force in support of independence from Great Britain for all of Ireland. The IRA was an organization that was supposed to help Ireland in the fight for independence and provide military support for the future. However, did the creation of the IRA really help Ireland in the end, or did it cause more problems than the Irish had already had? Although the IRA was created to aid Ireland in the fight for independence, its brutal tactics and inability to compromise ultimately led to destruction and trouble rather than peace for Ireland. Early on in the Irish kingdom, it was clear that Britain wanted Ireland as its own. Since the time of Henry VIII, who crowned himself King of Ireland, the Irish have known that Britain would one day attempt to reclaim their kingdom. After Henry VIII, other rulers imposed their will on the Irish. Elizabeth I brought Protestantism to a predominantly Catholic country. James I, in order to further what Elizabeth imposed, created Ulster in Northern Ireland and displaced the people who had lived there before. In the early 1800s, the kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain united to create an improved kingdom. There were several problems due to the racial and cultural differences of the two kingdoms. This would spark many problems between the two over the years. As the years passed, the Irish people fought for a Home Rule Bill to pass through parliament. But the bill was canceled several times. Eventually a group of Irish republicans had enough of British rule in Ireland and staged a rebellion. The rebellion was not caused by British failure alone...... middle of paper ......tion.gov.uk /ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/41 (accessed 17 March 2014). Irish Republican Army. Stop the pressure. 3 July 1922"Irish Republican Army (IRA)." National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. http://www.start.umd.edu/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=55 (accessed March 17, 2014). Litton, Helen. The Irish Civil War: An Illustrated History. Dublin: Wolfhound Press, 1995.Mackay, James. Michael Collins: a life. Edinburgh, Great Britain: Mainstream Publishing Company LTD, 1996.Moloney, Ed. A Secret History of the IRA. New York: WW Norton & Company LTD, 2002.O Brion, Leon Dublin Castle and the Rising of 1916. New York: New York University Press, 1971. Smith, MLR Fighting for Ireland? The military strategy of the Irish republican movement. London: Routledge, 1995. The Free State. The Free State: An Saorstat, October 7, 1922.